Count Miksa Esterházy de Galántha (Hungarian pronunciation: [ˈmikʃɒ ˈɛstɛrhaːzi]; 14 May 1837 – 5 August 1883) was a Hungarian landowner, diplomat and the founder of Magyar AC, the first sports association in Hungary.
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Biography
Early and personal life
He was born on 14 May 1837 in Vienna to Count Miklós Esterházy de Galántha and Countess Mária von Plettenberg-Mietingen. As an attaché, he spent longer time in London and Paris, and also served at the Austrian embassy in Berlin and later in Washington, where he met and later married to Sarah Virginia ("Sally") Carroll, widow of American General Charles Griffin. The marriage remained childless.
Creation of Hungarian athletics
During his stay abroad, Esterházy met with modern Anglo-Saxon outdoor sports and soon became an enthusiastic supporter of athletics and boxing. An active athlete himself, he began to promote these sports after his return to Hungary in the 1870s. Although his initiations encountered opposition at first, he eventually won the support of the Hungarian aristocracy and in 1875 he founded Magyar AC (Magyar Athletics Club, MAC), the first sports association in Hungary. Esterházy held the presidential position of MAC until his death.